AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Thursday 19th November

In this Bulletin…

- Outrage at misuse of human blood products;
- Opposition says Chinese students threaten Taiwanese jobs; and
- Church of Scientology under fire in Australia.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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November 9 marked 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some experts now think Beijing’s Berlin Wall, the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, is being dismantled from within.

SOH spoke to Zeng Ning, a well-known democratic activist and political analyst from Guizhou Province. He said in a telephone interview that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Europe had an epochal meaning for Chinese people.

Zeng said communism no longer existed in the minds of the Chinese people. He added that it was only a matter of time before Marxism as practised by the regime, analogous to the ideological Berlin Wall, finally collapsed in China.

We’ll bring you more on this story in tomorrow’s Asia Cast.

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NTDTV has reported on the alarming use of human blood plasma as a high protein fertilizer by orchid growers in China.

Orchids require much more nitrogen than ordinary plants to grow well. Proteins, such as those found in blood plasma, are high in nitrogen.

Photos recently posted on a Chinese orchid trading forum show human blood plasma being used as a plant feed. The plasma is labelled as being from the Chengdu City Blood Centre in Sichuan Province.

The news caused uproar as it quickly spread online. The Chengdu Health Bureau has tried to play down the incident. But local state-media said they’d been informed of similar practices at another Sichuan hospital.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party has criticized plans by the Ministry of Education to open Taiwan to Chinese students.

The party’s Chairwoman,Tsai Ing-wen said they had concerns over the possible impact on the local job market.

Tsai issued the warning after Education Minister Wu Ching-chi announced plans to recognize diplomas issued by 41 Chinese universities. Under the proposed plans Chinese college students and graduate students would be allowed to study in Taiwan from June 2010.

The Ministry of Examination has stressed that Chinese students graduating from Taiwanese universities will not be able to take part in state examinations to become civic servants or tests to get professional certification.

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A woman in Japan has called on US President Barack Obama to take his visit to China as an opportunity to rescue her sister and to help end the persecution of Falun Gong.

In 2001 Associate Professor Wu Xiaohua was illegally detained at the Anhui Province Female Labor Camp. She was then taken to a mental hospital against her will where she was tortured.

Wu was targeted because she practices Falun Gong. The Chinese regime has been trying to eradicate the meditation practice since it became hugely popular in the 1990s.

Speaking in Japan, Wu’s sister said Wu had been tortured with electric shocks.

NTDTV has more on this.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network

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Amnesty International’s top official has described Australia’s treatment of its indigenous population as a base violation of human rights.

Amnesty Secretary-General Irene Khan has been in the Northern Territory, home to around 50-thousand Aboriginals. She was shocked by the conditions she saw in the several remote communities she visited.

Khan called for a the government to take a new approach to the issue. She said current policy choices had perpetuated poverty. Khan argued that the moral imperative to end poverty was as convincing as the moral imperative to stop torture.

Amnesty said Indigenous Australians still faced discrimination and disempowerment.

On average they have an average life expectancy 17 years less than non-Indigenous Australians.

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The Australian government is considering launching a parliamentary inquiry into the Church of Scientology.

The announcement comes after a member of the Senate tabled letters from former followers alleging extensive criminal activity.

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, noted the grave allegations made by Senator Nick Xenophon, but said the evidence must be looked at carefully before proceeding.

A Scientology statement said the letters constituted a propaganda campaign.

Scientology is given religious status in many countries and so enjoys tax-free privileges. But revelations from former followers have sparked huge legal battles in Europe where this status has been challenged.

Last month, a French court convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud.

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“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”